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Monday, October 15, 2018

RIP XIII: The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

Father Brown
is a petit priest with innocent look and black umbrella, whose long experience with men provided
him a better understanding of human's passions and characters. That, and his
special gift of analysis and observation, has molded Father Brown to a sharp
detective. Yes, Father Brown is a pastor and a detective, and this is a
detective stories collection.

I am certain
that Father Brown detective stories were Agatha Christie's main inspiration for
her Poirot’s. First of all, his method of combining human psychology with sharp
analysis and deductive. Secondly, his sidekick's name, M. Hercule Flambeu,
which was very similar to Christie's legendary Hercule Poirot.

The Innocence of Father Brown composed
of twelve detective stories. In four earliest cases, Flambeau was the notorious
and elusive criminal who has puzzled the police. It was Father Brown who solved
those cases, and at the same time converted Flambeau. He retired from his
criminal career, and eventually became private investigator, who sometimes
assisted Father Brown as his sidekick.

I took notes
of the twelve cases, each is unique and interesting.

The
Blue Cross, the introduction story, is a jewel theft. Father Brown was
the victim, Flambeau the thief. Chief Valentin of Paris police force was
trailing Flambeau, though at the end became only a spectator when Father Brown
unfolded the mystery.

The
Secret Garden is the best plot twist of the twelve stories. It reminded
me of Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd—you
know...when the villain turned out to be the _____ [I must stop myself here
before spoiling anything!]

The
Queer Feet is a simple theft story which also criticized snob rich men
who consider themselves center of universe, and at the same time treat their
servants as their inferior. It also served as the turning point of Flambeau's
criminal career.

The
Flying Stars is Flambeau's last crime. It's a classic theft case which
involved English dramatic pantomime, where people dressed as Harlequin,
Columbine, and the Clown. Then, while the audience was having fun, three
diamonds changed hands.

The
Invisible Man is a murder without a corpse. It's my favorite. Not only
that it's a perfect crime, but also because it involved an interesting social
study of how we treat people.

The
Honor of Israel Gow is the perfect Halloween reading in this stories
collection. It's queer and gothic, taking place in old castle in Scotland, and
involving grave digging and skull.

The
Wrong Shape can be said the predecessor of Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The
similarity is uncanny, especially the twist. And the way Father Brown solved
the mystery by identifying the wrong shape of a sheet of paper was really
Poirot-ish.

The
Sins of Prince Saradine is cold blooded revenge-murder story. Another
plot twist, and a double crime—the “killing two birds with one stone” stuff.

The
Hammer of God served as warning for us to be humble, and not to act
God. For common eyes, there was a touch of supernatural power in this death
case. But Father Brown proved the opposite.

The
Act of Apollo is another seemingly-supernatural case. This time
involved a fanatic sect and its 'blind' worshipper. It's the most simple but
ruthless-cold-blooded murder I have ever read.

The
Sign of the Broken Sword is the most unique case. Actually it's not
even a case, because Brown and Flambeau only analyzed the history of a
legendary general who died in war, and was always identified with a broken
sword. Why a broken sword? This question then led to a surprising conclusion.

The
Three Tools of Death is murder case with too many weapons. And as
usual, something out of place is what interest Father Brown, a starting point
to solve the case.

This is my
first Chesterton, and I would read more from him. The Man Who Was Thursday has been in my radar for some time. Father
Brown might not be my favorite detective stories—at times the story is too
queer for my taste—but it is quite entertaining if you feel like reading some
fast-paced stories.